Map of the British Empire in America

Title Leupe: A.Map of the British Empire in America, with the French, Spanish and Dutch Settlements adjacent there. Etc. Vier bladen.

While Henry Popple originally drew this map under the auspices of the Lord Commissioners of Trade and Plantations to delineate areas belonging to the English, Spanish and French colonies, the map soon became known as one of the most accurate depictions of North and Central America as well as the Caribbean. This is no surprise as Popple’s task led him to combine cartographic standards from both the French and British sides. He was directly inspired by Colonel Barnwell's map of the southeast; De L'Isle's "Carte de la Louisiane"; and Cadwallader Colden's map of the Iroquois nations. As such, the map was of use in the Dutch Republic too and its second and most popular edition was printed in Amsterdam not London around 1742. The original Popple map was nearly impossible to present as a single piece as all pages together measured over eight feet square. The Dutch publisher Covens and Mortier managed to increase its portability while keeping all information, from the towns and mounts to Wager’s 1707 sea battle at Caragena, readable. The content hardly changed, except for the misguided term “Hollandish" –the name of merely one of the Dutch provinces– being altered to “The Dutch” in the cartouche.